North Carolina missed the 2023 NCAA Tournament after starting No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. It was a disaster from November all the way through March, when the Tar Heels lost their second game in the ACC Tournament to finish 20-13 and cemented themselves as the sport's biggest disappointment. It put third-year coach Hubert Davis in a position where he really needed a nice bounce-back season to quiet some critics.
He appears to be having one.
UNC beat Louisville 86-70 on Wednesday to improve to 14-3 overall, 6-0 in the ACC. The Tar Heels are now 6-3 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. They're on a seven-game winning streak and sitting at No. 4 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Jae'lyn Withers led UNC against Louisville, which doubles as the program for which he played the previous three seasons. The 6-foot-9 senior got 15 points and 10 rebounds against his former coach and teammates.
"He was pretty good. He was more than pretty good," Davis said before adding, "we just don't win this game without J-With. He was fantastic. We needed him to have his best game of the season. I'm just really happy [for him] and really proud of him."
North Carolina's next four games are against Boston College, Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Tech, meaning the Tar Heels won't play another currently ranked team until they host Duke on Feb. 3. As long as UNC doesn't slip up between now and then, it will take an 11-game winning streak into that contest between what are clearly the ACC's two best teams. North Carolina and Duke are No. 4 and No. 9 in the Top 25 And 1. No other ACC school is ranked here nor inside the top 35 of the NET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
| Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -- | 3-0 | |
Zach Edey finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday's 87-66 win at Indiana. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at Iowa.
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| 2 | -- | 3-0 | |
Tristen Newton finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 62-48 win over Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Villanova.
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| 3 | -- | 3-0 | |
Kevin McCullar finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in a 90-66 win over Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at West Virginia.
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| 4 | -- | 1-1 | |
RJ Davis finished with 21 points and six assists in Wednesday's 86-70 win over Louisville. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Boston College.
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| 5 | -- | 3-0 | |
Dalton Knecht finished with 39 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 85-66 win over Florida. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Alabama.
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| 6 | -- | 2-1 | |
Jamal Shead finished with 29 points and 10 assists in Wednesday's 77-54 win over Texas Tech. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against UCF.
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| 7 | -- | 2-0 | |
Jahvon Quinerly finished with 23 points and 11 assists in Sunday's 112-86 win at Wichita State. The Tigers' next game is Thursday against South Florida.
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| 8 | -- | 2-0 | |
Caleb Love finished with 20 points and five assists in Wednesday's 82-67 win over USC. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against UCLA.
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| 9 | -- | 2-1 | |
Kyle Filipowski finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 84-79 win over Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Pitt.
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| 10 | -- | 3-0 | |
Jaylin Williams finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 80-65 win at Vanderbilt. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Ole Miss.
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| 11 | -- | 3-0 | |
Chucky Hepburn was 0 of 4 from the field in Tuesday's 87-83 loss at Penn State. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Indiana.
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| 12 | -- | 2-1 | |
RayJ Dennis was 2 of 14 from the field in Tuesday's 68-64 loss at Kansas State. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Texas.
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| 13 | -- | 3-0 | |
Antonio Reeves finished with 27 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 90-77 win over Mississippi State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Georgia.
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| 14 | -- | 2-0 | |
Jalon Moore finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 77-63 win over West Virginia. The Sooners' next game is Saturday at Cincinnati.
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| 15 | -- | 3-0 | |
DaRon Holmes finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday's 70-65 win over Saint Louis. The Flyers' next game is Saturday against Rhode Island.
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| 16 | -- | 3-0 | |
Darius Brown II was 4 of 13 from the field in Tuesday's 99-86 loss at New Mexico. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Fresno State.
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| 17 | 1 | 3-0 | |
Spencer Johnson finished with 28 points and five assists in Tuesday's 87-72 win over Iowa State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech.
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| 18 | 1 | 2-0 | |
Tamin Lipsey was 4-of-12 from the field in Tuesday's 85-72 loss at BYU. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at TCU.
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| 19 | 1 | 2-0 | |
Jaedon LeDee finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 71-59 win over Nevada. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at Boise State.
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| 20 | 1 | 3-0 | |
Nique Clifford finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 78-69 win over Air Force. The Rams' next game is Friday against UNLV.
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| 21 | 1 | 3-0 | |
Kam Jones finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Monday's 87-74 win over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at St. John's.
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| 22 | 1 | 3-0 | |
Quincy Guerrier was 2-of-10 from the field in Sunday's 76-67 loss to Maryland. The Illini's next game is Thursday at Michigan.
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| 23 | 3 | 1-2 | |
Al-Amir Dawes finished with 21 points and one assist in Tuesday's 80-65 win over St. John's. The Pirates' next game is Saturday against Creighton.
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| 24 | -- | 3-0 | |
Trey Alexander was 3 of 12 from the field in Wednesday's 62-48 loss at UConn. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday at Seton Hall.
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| 25 | NR | 3-0 | |
Nelly Junior Joseph finished with 26 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 99-86 win over Utah State. The Lobos' next game is Saturday at Air Force.
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| 26 | 1 | 3-0 | |
Pop Isaacs was 4 of 15 from the field in Wednesday's 77-54 loss at Houston. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against BYU.
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